The Eternals: Everything you need to know about who – or what – they are

Makkari

Another big change between the comics and the movie, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) is depicted as being female in the upcoming film. But what both the comics version and the theatrical version have in common is speed. More specifically,  Makkari can run at superhuman speeds faster than any of the other Eternals. This comes at a cost, however, as Makkari has also sacrificed all of the other powers and abilities granted to all Eternals.

Makkari is a variation of Mercury, the analogue of the Greek God, Hermes. Makkari is also depicted in the comics as being the most active participant in human history. Among Makkari’s various deeds, they include teaching writing to the ancient Egyptians, being a prized pupil of the philosopher Plato, having a run-in with Vlad the Impaler (a.k.a. the historical Dracula), fighting in World War II and jamming with Elvis Presley.

Phastos

Worshiped as the Greek God of fire and the forge, Hephaestus, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) is a later edition to the Eternals as far as the comics are concerned. However, he apparently is also responsible for many of the Eternals’ inventions, technological marvels, and weapons, including Kinjo’s indestructible katana. And while he has the same powers as the other Eternals, he doesn’t often use them. That’s because his signature ability – creating energy blasts of intense heat – also causes him a tremendous amount of pain, the result of having overtaxed his energy reserves over the centuries.

After his comic book debut, it was later revealed that Phastos is also gay. When Sprite accidentally gave the Eternals collective amnesia, Phastos ended up settling down in a same-sex marriage in Germany.

Druig

Finally, we come to the closest thing the Eternals have to a Magneto or Loki, Ikaris’ cousin Druig (Barry Keoghan). Unlike his fellow Eternals who believe the best way to safeguard humanity is to act as passive observers, Druig believes the human race needs to be subjugated for their own good. In keeping with his philosophy regarding humans and his Machiavellian tendencies, Druig has honed his own telepathy to the point where he can control other people’s minds and know their inner most fears.

On top of this, he’s also plotted against his own kind and his own family numerous times. Among his list of misdeeds include freeing a Deviant who ended up killing Ikaris’ father, leading the Monguls in a second attempt to invade Europe, joining the KGB, and more recently, murdering Zuras. So yes, he’s not exactly a very nice guy.

That should cover just about everything you need to know. Will any of this lore also be included in the  film? We’ll just have to find out when the Eternals premieres in theaters this November 5th.